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Population Control (Non-Lethal):An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

Remote Pregnancy Testing and Monitoring of Ovarian Function

This article is a reprint from the Science and Conservation Center

Still another activity of the SCC is the remote diagnosis of pregnancy,
or remote monitoring of ovarian function, through the measurement of
reproductive steroid hormone metabolites in urine or feces. This technology
removed the stresses of capture for the animals in question, and is
consistent with the humane dimensions of wildlife contraception. Remote
pregnancy diagnosis was originally utilized to facilitate contraceptive
studies, and to fine tune the timing of booster inoculations. For example,
the efficacy of a PZP inoculation in a mare treated in March, can be
assessed by September of the same year, without having to wait until the
spring of the following year. The monitoring of ovarian activity through
urinary or fecal analysis was originally utilized to assess the safety of
the PZP vaccine, or to alert zoo curators of impending pregnancies among
animals in the collection, or to assess fetal or neonatal losses in bighorn
sheep for a government agency.

The application of this technology has been extended to basic
reproductive studies in wildlife species where little is know about the
reproductive biology of the species. Examples of studies conducted by the
SCC include assessment of fertility in aging primates, rhinos, and bongos.
The current cost of assays is approximately $20/sample (see Barkuff et al.
2003; Kirkpatrick 1996b; Kirkpatrick and Lasley 1991, 1993; Kirkpatrick et
al. 1988, 1990a,b, 1991b, 1992b, 1993b,c, 1996: Lasley and Kirkpatrick
1991).

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